5/14/2017 Sentdown:AnunfairtrialleavesChineseIndonesiansfeelingvulnerable|TheEconomist

Sent down
An unfair trial leaves Chinese-Indonesians feeling
vulnerable
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakartas governor, is jailed for two years

Print edition | Asia May 13th 2017 | JAKARTA

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5/14/2017 Sentdown:AnunfairtrialleavesChineseIndonesiansfeelingvulnerable|TheEconomist

OUTSIDE the courthouse there were cries of Allahu akbar. Inside, a panel of five
judges had just handed Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the governor of Jakarta, a two-year
prison sentence for blasphemy. The verdict delighted the Muslim activists who
have rallied against Mr Basuki for months, derailing his campaign for another term.
But for his fellow Indonesians of Chinese descent, it is an all too predictable
injustice. As Maggie Tiojakin, a 37-year-old Chinese-Indonesian writer, puts it, For
most of us minorities this was expected. And it further confirms our fears that for
as long as we live here, we will have to look over our shoulders.

Chinese began settling in the islands that today make up Indonesia centuries ago.
Many worked as merchants or traders, placing them in a position similar to that of
Jews in medieval Europe: necessary, but often resented and persecuted. But others
were miners or indentured labourers. Suharto, Indonesias longtime dictator,
reportedly helped spread the canard that they comprised 3% of the countrys
population, but controlled 70% of its economya wild overstatement on both
counts. A recent study estimates that Chinese-Indonesians rank 18th among
Indonesias 600-odd ethnic groups, with 2.8m people; they make up around 1.2% of
the population. And although they account for a disproportionate share of the
countrys billionaires, most Chinese-Indonesians are not rich.

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withdrawing Confucianisms status as one
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religions and forbidding the teaching of
Chinese. Ironically, he also boosted Chinese-Indonesians economic standing by
barring them from government service, thereby pushing them into the private
sector. The riots that triggered his resignation in 1998 targeted Chinese-
Indonesians, killing around 1,100 people and destroying Chinese businesses.

Since Suhartos downfall, things have improved. Confucianisms status has been
restored, teaching Chinese is now legal and Chinese New Year is a national holiday.
The cabinets of successive presidents have featured Chinese-Indonesian ministers,
often in prominent economic jobs. And a few Chinese-Indonesian politicians have
emerged. Mr Basuki, better known as Ahok, first won election in 2005 as regent
(district chief) in his home district of East Belitung, where roughly a tenth of the
population is Chinese. He also served in Indonesias house of representatives
before winning the post of deputy governor of Jakarta as the running-mate of Joko
Widodo, or Jokowi, who is now Indonesias president. (Ahok became governor
without an election when Jokowi was elected president.) His rise seemed to suggest
that being a Chinese Christian was not a political handicap in a country where 90%
of the population is Muslim and 95% of indigenous descent.
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5/14/2017 Sentdown:AnunfairtrialleavesChineseIndonesiansfeelingvulnerable|TheEconomist

But Ahoks failed campaign for a fresh term as governor tested that premise. It was
hard to detect any insult to Islam in the speech for which he was taken to task by
Islamist agitators, yet prosecutors charged him and the court convicted him.
Indeed, the judges gave him a harsher sentence than prosecutors had requested.

His political rivals, meanwhile, showed no compunction about taking advantage of

this travesty: the victorious candidate for governor, Anies Baswedan, took to
campaigning in the white shirt and black skullcap of a pious Javanese Muslim. On
election day two elderly Chinese voters in Glodok, Jakartas Chinatown, admitted
that they feared once again becoming the target of rioters. Another prominent
Chinese-Indonesian said he worried that Mr Baswedans victory heralded the first
step toward imposing Islamic law.

Ahoks sentence has reinforced such fears. Some worry Chinese will withdraw
again from politics. Ms Tiojakin says she does not know a single Chinese-
Indonesian who does not in some way believe that 1998 [could] repeat itself.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "Sent down"

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